Flying High (part four of the FeatherDash series)
by FeatherDash
Summary: After the events of the gala, feelings of guilt reside in Feather. Will he get over it as time goes on, or will the guilt consume him?
1. Chapter 1

As the sweat dripped down my face, i thought about the events that had occurred that night. Jubilees face, the moment Melody hit the wall, the fear as I watched the heart monitor beep along steadily. The feelings of guilt welled up inside me, making me push myself even harder. I sprinted around the track, and as I neared the entrance to the track, I noticed a familiar pony standing there, waiting for me. She smiled as I stopped in front of her, panting.

"Feather, you have to stop pushing yourself so hard. You're going to hurt yourself." Melody told me.

"I always work this hard! It's not bad actually. Once your hooves stop hurting, you can pretty much run forever." I said to her.

"Alright, that's it. Come with me."

"But I'm not done trai-"

"Now!"

"Yes ma'am!" I said in surprise.

After the incident at the Gala, Spitfire had told us that all three remaining teams had a kind of break for a while. I had planned to go to ponyville to visit everypony and participate in the Running of the Leaves. Mom said shed have a surprise waiting for me when I got home and, being the impatient stallion I was, I was leaving the next day. As we neared the dorm complex, I realized something.

"Melody, what are you doing over break?" I asked her. She was still recovering from a severe concussion, so I was worried.

"I actually don't have anything planned. Why?" She said as I held the door open for her.

"Cause I told my mom you were coming with me in my last letter to her!" I started running down the hall, laughing.

"Feather! Get back here!" I heard her running after me.

I stopped in front of the room we now shared and waited for Melody to catch up. She was the only one with a key, so I kinda had no choice. She rounded the corner at the end of the hall and ran towards me, laughing and smiling. I grinned, but that faded when I noticed she wasn't slowing down. She charged full speed into my chest, sending us both flying. I landed on my stomach and watched as Melody flipped herself to look at me. She moved herself closer and closer until we were touching noses.

"I'd love to come!" She said. She kissed me real quick, and stood. She pulled the key out of a little bag I hadn't noticed her wearing, and unlocked the door. I sped past her and jumped onto her bed.

"Get off before you get it all wet with your sweat!" She yelled at me. I began rolling back and forth on the bed, and Melody couldn't help but laugh. She flopped down next to me and we just sat there for a while.

"Well if you're coming, what do you need to pack?" I asked her. We took the next five minutes putting a few things of hers in a pack and before we knew it, it was dark outside. I flew up into my bed and as I pulled the blanket over me, I heard her flop into bed. A few minutes passed in silence.

"Feather?" Melody asked.

"Yeah?"

"Would you maybe want to go on a walk or something? I can't sleep."

"How about something else?"

"What?"

I flew down off my bed and poked her side.

"Move over." I told her.

As she slid closer to the wall I lied down next to her. She pulled the blanket over us, and within minutes, I heard her steady breathing as she slept.

Note: I'm sorry for taking so long on starting part four! I lost motivation for a while and no one is sending plot ideas. Send plot ideas to me people! I need to figure out how to make the chapters longer but it's really hard. Also, I started a Facebook page called FeatherDash, so like it to see updates and special previews of future chapters.

~FeatherDash


	2. Yellow to Gray

As I walked over to the bed, I paused and watched Melody's chest go up and down with the pattern of her breathing. She looked so peaceful, but I had to wake her up because the carriage I had arranged was waiting for us outside. I leaned over and nuzzled her face. She moaned as she stretched and turned to face me. Her eyes were half open and her mane was messy.

"Good morning sleepy head." I told her softly. She rolled out of the bed and stood, giving me a quick kiss before running into the bathroom. Weird. I thought to myself. She hadn't said a word to me.

I had woken up earlier to get ready, so I flew up to my bed and stared at the ceiling. I started to wonder what it was that mom wanted to give me. Was it a new tag for my necklace? Or a new jacket? Something didn't feel right to me, but it was mom so I was certain everything was fine.

Melody walked out of the bathroom and stared at me.

"What?" I asked her.

"Your eyes." She said.

"My eyes? What about my eyes?"

"Look in the mirror."

I walked into the bathroom and stared at my reflection. She was right. Something happened to my eyes. The gold that used to stare back at me had changed colors. And not a little change, a huge one. My eyes had turned gray. I jumped, and hit the wall behind me. I slumped to the floor and stared at my hooves for a minute before getting up and running out into the room.

"Come on, we gotta go." I told her.

She stared at me and walked out with her bag. I followed her and we walked downstairs, only to be met by the carriage outside. I put my bag in, grabbed Melody's and jumped into the carraige. Melody stepped inside and sat across from me, staring.

"I thought you'd be a little more worried Feather. Eyes don't normally change like that." She told me.

"I am worried. But my mom is expecting us, and we have to go."

"What if it's serious though?"

"It's not serious. Plus, I have a feeling that if anyone knows what's going on, it'll be Zecora."

When we arrived, I saw mom waiting outside for us.

"Melody, could you do me a favor?" I asked.

"Sure, what is it?"

"Keep my mom busy while I go see Zecora. Tell her I'm picking something up from town."

Before she could respond, I was already flying off towards the everfree forest.

"I'M WHAT?!" I yelled at Zecora.

"You're sick, very much so. This caused your eyes to lose their yellow." She told me. I loved the way she rhymed her sentences, but I was panicking too much to smile. I'd never really gotten sick before so I didn't know what was happening.

"What's wrong with me?"

"You've pushed yourself way too far. Too far even for an athlete, as you are."

"I'm just tired? That isn't sick!"

"You're not tired, as you say. You pushed too far in a different way."

"What?"

"Our peace of mind keeps us sane, but recent events have caused you pain."

"I'm stressed?"

"No. If you don't fix that which troubles you, the one you love will disappear, as will you. This is a result of a powerful spell. One that is secret, and guarded well. You can survive this, however, if you and the mare known as Melody are together."

Then it hit me. I knew what I had to do. I rushed out the door and headed for home.

Note: Hey guys! I'm sorry this chapter took so long! I've been really busy and writing got pushed to the side for a while. Anyways, I hope you liked this chapter. Zecora will most likely never appear again because its really hard to write sentences that rhyme and also make sense. I'm still accepting ocs so if you have an oc, shoot me a pm. I have a new rule that you can only submit one oc, unless I ask for a specific type of oc from someone. I'm compiling a list of all the current oc submissions to try and be better organized so I may contact some people about details of their ocs.

~featherdash


	3. One Cure

I ran up to the front door of Moms house and paused. I thought about what had happened at Zecora's when it hit me like a ton of bricks. She told me I could survive, which means I was dying. I started to panic and laid down on the front doorstep for a minute before I lost conciousness.

I woke up suddenly and looked around. Melody was lying next to me, curled up in a blanket. When she saw me awake, she jumped up.

"Rainbow Dash! He's awake!" Melody shouted. I heard hoof steps and all of a sudden, mom came into the room. A worried look was on her face.

"Sweet Celestia! What's wrong with your eyes?!" Mom shouted at me. I didn't say a word. I couldn't. I couldn't tell her what was happening to me. I stood up and walked across what I now recognized as my room and looked into the mirror hanging on the wall. It felt weird to look at my now gray eyes. I thought about everything.

Escaping the orphanage.

Waking up in the hospital.

Seeing mom go into a fury over me.

Sitting under the tree where I became who I am.

Mom refusing to let me be adopted.

Running around my room with paint on my flank.

My first Hearths Warming Eve.

Being wrapped in moms wing as I slept.

My entire life ran through my mind as I burst into tears. I felt Melody sit next to me. She looked at me, smiling.

"I went to Zecora's." she told me. "I know everything now."

I threw my hooves around her neck and hugged her. She stayed calm through the whole thing and once I'd stopped crying, I stood up. Melody didn't move as I walked out of the room. I closed the door and stood there for a minute listening. A few seconds later I heard melody start crying, saying "no no no no no" as she sobbed. Before I could go back into the room, mom stopped me.

"Leave her be." She told me. "I think something's wrong." My mind went blank for a few seconds. Mom didn't know what was happening.

I ran down the stairs and outside. Standing on the edge of the cloud, I looked around. I could still see mom and I running around, playing games and laughing. I jumped off the cloud and flew towards ponyville. It was time to save my life.

When I came back to the house, I carried a tiny bag upstairs. Zecora's sentences ran through my mind. You and the made known as melody must be together. I opened the door to my room to find Melody sleeping on the floor. I wasn't sure if I had much time left so I lightly shook her awake.

"Feather?" She asked, half awake. I sat down in front of her and placed a small black box in front of her. I was shaking from nervousness. She stared at the box, puzzled.

"Melody, will you marry me?"

Her jaw hit the floor.

Note: As I write this it occurs to me I haven't finished the Wonderbolts Academy Arc. I assure you, i will continue to work on that. today, i actually took the time to read all of my writing so far. i dont like it, but almost 4000 views of my first Featherdash installment tell me im doing something right.


	4. Knock Knock

Hey guys! FeatherDash here. Some people may not like the ending of the last chapter, but no one will send me any requests on how they want the story to go! I get it if you don't keep reading, but I'll try my hardest to make the last installment (maybe) of FeatherDash the best one yet!

~FeatherDash

"Feather..." Melody sat there, tears forming in her eyes. I stared at her, expecting a response. She started to sob. Did I do something wrong? I asked myself. When she finally looked up, she was smiling. A wave of relief came over me as I heard her whisper.  
"Yes!" She said. I jumped up in excitement.  
"Really?!" I asked her. She slowly stood and nodded. She never even looked at what I'd gotten her. I picked it up and ran downstairs where mom sat, surrounded by her friends, who all looked at me. Mom sat facing away from me, unmoving. Her eyes were wide open, and she was pale.

I ran up to her.  
"Mom! Mom! What's wrong?! Tell me what's wrong?!" I yelled.  
"How could you not tell me..." She said softly.  
"Tell you what?"  
She flew upstairs and slammed her door shut. I looked around at her friends, who's faces had all turned to a look of concern. They focused on me as I stood and walked over to the bathroom. I looked into the mirror, but my eyes... They hadn't changed. I was still dying and I still didn't know what to do. I ran out and looked at Twilight. She's the only one who would've found out from Zecora. She had told my mom everything. I ran upstairs to moms door, but it was locked.  
Knock knock I thought to myself as I bucked at the door. When the door finally gave, I found mom crying on her bed. I slowly walked over and sat next to her.  
"Mom, you have to understand. I couldn't tell you because I didn't know how you'd react." I said.  
"I'm not mad..." She said between sobs.  
I felt awful. I was dying and Mom had to sit there and watch.  
"I'm not sure if this is a good time, but I wanted to tell you some good news." I said.  
"How is this good news?!" She yelled.  
"Not this! Mom, I'm getting married!"  
"You are?!" She didn't seem so sad anymore.  
"Yes! And if Zecora is right, it'll save my life."  
She started crying again. But this time she was smiling. She started laughing and pulled me into the biggest hug ever. I was crying by this point.

I sat with her for a while, talking about all that had happened since I last saw her. A few minutes passed in silence, then we heard hoofsteps and turned to see Melody standing in the doorway.  
"Come here and hug me! " Mom shouted at her. Melody walked over and sat on the other side of mom. I stood and walked downstairs to the mares waiting for mom.

"Come upstairs." I told them. They followed me up to Mom's room and walked inside. Melody and mom were sitting on the bed, talking.  
"Melody? Don't you have an announcement to make?" I asked her. She nodded and looked at the mares.  
"We're getting married." She said. The mares went silent before they started congratulating us and laughing in happiness. Slowly, we worked our way downstairs to the couches. We sat there for a while, talking about how we wanted to do the wedding. All we knew was that it was going to be in a month, on Hearth's Warming Eve.


	5. Energy

A month had passed, and I was not prepared for what this condition had done to me. I was forced to stay in bed most of the time, because I had become weak. I was out of bed for about an hour at a time, before returning to the bed Melody and I shared. In preparation for our wedding, we had traveled to Canterlot, where Princess Cadence had insisted we have the wedding.

I turned my head to stare at the clock that hung on the wall. 9:43 in the morning. I slowly climbed out of the bed and walked into the bathroom that connected to our room. We had been given the same room that had housed Mom and me when I was cursed by Luna. In the bathroom, I stared at my reflection. My eyes began to tear up as I looked into the hollow gray eyes that looked back at me.

I heard hoofsteps and quickly blinked away the tears as Melody walked in and stood next to me. She smiled at my reflection and I couldn't hold it anymore. The tears started flowing out of my eyes as I silently sobbed. I wasn't ready to die. Melody slowly led me over to the bedside and forced me to lie down. She hopped into the bed next to me and just looked at me. There was nothing either of us could possibly say to try and make light of the situation.

"We'll get through this." Melody said.

"I'm getting worse..." I told her as I rested my head on my hooves. She wrapped me in her wing and pulled me closer. She could do this now because I'd lost a lot of weight from not eating much. The only food I had was what Melody forced me to eat.

Once I was certain Melody was asleep, I got out of the bed and left the room. Slowly, I made my way to Mom's room. I heard some talking from inside the room, so I knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" I heard mom say.

"It's me." The door flew open revealing a frantic Mom. She turned and ran back into the room, looking for something. I stepped into the room and sat on the bed.

"Mind telling me what you're looking for?" I asked her.

"I can't find my dress for tomorrow!" She yelled at me. I looked at her, puzzled.

"Mom, you realize you're wearing it right?" She looked down and laughed.

"I guess I'm a little nervous."

"Why?"

"Tomorrow has to be perfect! My little colt is getting married!" She hugged me tight before walking over to the bathroom. She returned carrying the dress and set it on the bed.

"Oh! By the way, Twilight said she wanted to see you." I nodded and left the room.

_Crap_. I thought to myself. _Twilights room is on the other side of the castle._ I walked and walked until I passed the library. Two guards were posted outside the giant doors, and one of them called out to me.

"Feather?!" The guard ran over to me.

"Yes?" I said.

"Are you okay?! You don't look too good."

I stared at him for a minute. There was something firmiliar about him. Then it hit me. I could never mistake those leathery wings.

"Silent?!"

"Yeah! It's me!"

"Man, it's been a while! About ten years now!"

"I know! Now what's wrong?"

I spent the next fifteen minutes explaining the condition and what it was doing to me.

"Oh..." He said.

"Yeah..."

I began slowly walking off when I was picked up. Silent had put me on his back.

"Where to?" He asked.

"Silent, you don't have to carry me there." I told him.

"Oh well. I'm doing it anyways. Where to?"

I sighed. "Twilight's room."

"Feather! You're here! Come in." Twilight said as she led me into her room. Books littered the floor and pretty much every other open surface.

"I want to try something." Twilight said.

"What do you want to try?" I asked her.

"I found a spell that seems to give someone more energy. Want to try?"

"Will it hurt?"

"Possibly."

"Could I die?"

"I don't know."

"Does it work?"

"I think so."

"Let's do this."

I sat on her bed as she read one of the open books on the floor. Her horn glowed and I was wrapped in warmth. When the feeling subsided, Twilight was breathing heavily. I stood up and walked around the room.

"Did it work?" Twilight asked.

"I don't know." I told her.

"Try to fly."

I hadn't flown in weeks, so when I was able to reach the ceiling I knew it had worked.

"Thank you so much Twilight!" I shouted as I ran out the door. I took off and flew for my room.

I landed in front of the room and ran inside. Melody was still sleeping. I gently shook her awake. She slid off the bed, rubbing her eyes. I ran out of the room into the hall and I could hear her gasp. When she came out into the hallway, she turned to me.

"How are you running?!" She asked.

"Twilight cast a spell on me!" I told her. I stared walking off, and Melody caught up with me.

"Wanna go do something?" I asked her.

"Let's go see Cadence. I wanna ask her about how the wedding is coming." She told me.

I took off running down the hallway, happy just to be out of bed.


End file.
